In this Jan. 4, 2013 photo, Lyft driver Nancy Tcheou waits in her car after dropping off a passenger as a taxi cab passes her in San Francisco. Fed up with traditional taxis, city dwellers are tapping their smartphones to hitch rides from strangers using mobile apps that allow riders and drivers to find each other. Internet-enabled ridesharing services such as Lyft, Uber and Sidecar are expanding rapidly in San Francisco, New York and other U.S. cities, billing themselves as a high-tech, low-cost alternative to cabs.

Amid a police crackdown on casual drivers illegally soliciting fares at Los Angeles International Airport, popular ride-sharing brand UberX moved Friday to halt pickups in the Central Terminal Area, though it will continue facilitating rides to the airport.

Since December, police have stepped up their enforcement of little-known regulations designed to protect livery and taxi drivers, frustrating ride-sharing drivers and leaving their customers bewildered. In the past two months, a law enforcement source said, Los Angeles World Airports police have cited about 200 drivers and made two arrests for illegal pickups on the upper and lower roadways.

The vast majority of Los Angeles Municipal Code citations, the source said, went to drivers for UberX, perhaps the most recognizable brand in an industry that includes competitors Lyft and Sidecar. Last week, Sidecar also told its drivers they might want to avoid LAX pickups, though its mobile phone application still allows them.

While the California Public Utilities Commission last year endorsed the right of the three firms and others like them to operate statewide, its decision left intact special arrangements at airports, which have the right to decide what cars may use them. Los Angeles International allows only properly licensed livery and taxi drivers to pick up passengers, and most drivers at the three major ride-sharing companies lack the proper credentials. Usually, drivers for UberX, Lyft and Sidecar are driving their own cars and are dispatched to fares by a mobile phone application.

“Unfortunately, authorities have taken an aggressive stance against UberX and have begun issuing citations to some drivers who pick up passengers at the airport,” the company said late Friday in a blog post. “Although we look forward to working with the authorities to resolve these issues quickly, this unwarranted action by authorities to punish drivers and riders cannot continue. That’s why we’re temporarily halting UberX pickups at LAX effective immediately.”

Drivers for two other Uber brands — UberBLACK and UberSUV — already have proper permission to make LAX pickups and will continue to operate at the airport, though those services are more expensive. Airport rules do not bar casual drivers from dropping customers off at the terminal area, so UberX will keep offering rides to LAX.

Officials with Lyft could not be reached for comment Friday, but its phone application was still accepting requests for LAX pickups.

It is not clear why airport police increased their vigilance, but drivers and passengers said police stopped their relatively lenient approach about two months ago. Passengers and drivers called the crackdown unnerving. Essentially, they said, police would look for the signs of ride-sharing — drivers usually have cellphones mounted in the window and passengers usually sit in the back seat —and then pounce on the car.

Jessica Harris, 25, of Los Angeles said she was not aware there might be a problem when she ordered a Honda Accord recently through UberX.

“Literally, five minutes after we leave the airport we get pulled over by a police officer,” Harris said. “I was a little confused and a little nervous. I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, did I do something wrong?’ He pulled me out of the car and he explained to me the problem. He said, ‘Don’t worry you’re not in trouble.’ He said, ‘You can call another car or I can call a cab for you.’ ”

She said her driver did not want to admit he was dispatched by UberX, but she felt she had no choice but to tell the truth to the officer. “He was like, ‘What service did you order this car from?’ ” she said. “I felt horrible. I felt so bad.”

It is possible there could be a fix that would allow casual drivers to make LAX pickups. Sources familiar with the matter said the airport is in discussions with the ride-sharing companies to figure out a way to get drivers proper permission. To do so, they probably would have to pay a fee to LAX, similar to the extra $4 fee paid cab drivers may charge on each fare from the airport. Not charging that fee has given the ride-sharing drivers a competitive advantage over taxis.

Sgt. Karla Ortiz of Los Angeles World Airports police said the crackdown is nothing more than officers simply enforcing the city’s Municipal Code.

“Most passengers don’t know what the rules are,” she said. “They don’t understand them. They are just here and need transportation. We understand that. But the drivers need to know what the rules are and they need to follow those rules.”

An UberX driver, who declined to give his name because he said he was concerned the company would punish him for speaking, said airport rides are among the most lucrative for drivers.

“That’s my most common ride — going back and forth to LAX,” the driver said. “That’s what people use this stuff for during the day. On Fridays and Saturdays, it’s going to the bars. If people didn’t drink or go to the airport, there would be no rides. Those are $45 rides at least to go out of the airport. That’s a lot of money.”

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